12 candidates for Syrian rebel interim premier

In this citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, anti-Syrian regime protesters raise up their hands as they wave Syrian revolutionary flags during a protest to mark the second anniversary of the their uprising, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday March 15, 2013. The chief of Syria's main, western-backed rebel group marked the second anniversary of the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad on Friday by pledging to fight until the "criminal" regime is gone. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC)

BEIRUT — Twelve candidates are running for interim prime minister of a government to rule rebel-controlled areas in Syria, the country’s main opposition group said Sunday.

The Western-backed Syrian National Coalition is set to elect the prime minister this week at a gathering of in Istanbul, Turkey.

The opposition, still largely based in exile, first raised the idea of an interim government months ago. Divisions among opposition figures caused repeated delays in forming it.

The latest effort to set up a government in the rebel-held areas comes after two full years of conflict in Syria.

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In recent months, rebels have seized additional territory and now control large swaths of northern and eastern Syria. President Bashar Assad and his loyalists have successfully defended regime strongholds, including the capital, Damascus.

State institutions have all but collapsed in rebel-held areas, leaving many communities to fend for themselves with little electricity and sometimes no running water.

Supporters of an interim government say it could help restore order in rebel-held territories, including the northern city of Raqqa and parts of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Others have warned that such a move is premature and that an opposition-run government would cement Syria’s fragmentation.

There is also concern that Islamist militias would not recognize the authority of an interim government. Many of the senior figures in the Syrian National Coalition live in exile, and might have difficulties asserting their authority in Syria.

After disagreements and delays, the Istanbul conference is set to begin Monday. The vote for prime minister is to be completed by Tuesday, said Khalid Saleh, a Turkey-based opposition spokesman.

Most of the candidates are technocrats, he said. He said they include Ghassan Hitto, an IT manager who recently moved from Dallas, Texas, to southern Turkey; Osama Kadi, an economist from London, Ontario; Assad Asheq Mustafa, a former Syrian agriculture minister, and Walid Al Zoabi, a Dubai businessman.

He said two of the names were not released because the candidates live in government-controlled areas in Syria.

The list could be whittled down before Tuesday’s votes, as some of those nominated may decide not to run, he said.

The Syria conflict began two years ago, initially as a largely peaceful uprising against Assad.

In response to a brutal regime crackdown, protesters took up arms, and by last summer, the insurgency turned into a civil war. The U.N. estimates that 70,000 Syrians have been killed and that 4 million of the country’s 22 million people have been displaced.